In the United States, you cannot face discrimination in the workplace because of pregnancy, childbirth or other medical connections. You have the right to work, regardless of pregnancy. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, your employer cannot treat you differently from other employees while pregnant.
You should expect the same treatment as all other temporarily disabled workers.
Protection from discrimination
Discrimination can come in many different forms. The most obvious form is direct harassment. If your supervisors, colleagues or any other person that you work with has rude remarks for you based on your pregnancy, you may have a case against harassment. You have every right to request that all harassment stops.
When pregnant, there will be tasks that you cannot do any longer. The further along you are, the less likely you are to perform physically taxing tasks. For instance, you may not be able to lift heavy boxes. Your supervisor cannot force you to lift heavy objects and cannot push you past your limits. Your job should offer accommodations for temporarily disabled workers and must do the same thing for you while pregnant.
Protection from retaliation
If you claim pregnancy discrimination, what can your bosses do? The answer is that your bosses should not be able to take that out on you. This goes for you and anyone close to you. If you out pregnancy discrimination and your boss tries to fire you or if he or she tries to demote you, this might be a sign of retaliation. Every employee has the right to a complaint without worrying about retaliation.
Pregnancy is one of the protected classes under the law.
